Within the Walls of Arzenal
by Tyrian Lale
Summary: Short one-shots exploring the relation and development of various Cross Ange characters. Platonic, family, sexual and romantic themes will be explored. Chapters will be named with characters or pairings. First chapter, fluff fic between a young Salia and Alektra (Jill)
Salia woke with a start, a cold sweat dripping down her back. She whimpered and sat up in bed, trying to shake away the remnants of her bad dream. Through her closed eyelids she still could see the red of blood splattering on her hands and the shouting voices.

She glanced at her pink alarm clock and made out the blaring numbers through her tears; 11:00 PM. It was late for the 8 year old to be awake but she wasn't sure if she could go back to sleep now.

She peered through the dim light of the elementary age dorm room; the rest of the girls were asleep. She knew if she tried to wake any of them, they would make fun of her for still having bad dreams.

Salia slid off her bed and padded across the cool floor to retrieve her oversized hoodie from her closet. It was her favorite thing she bought; she saved her weekly allowance for a whole month for it. She saw some of the older girls wearing ones like it and she instantly wanted to be like them.

After carefully glancing around to make sure no one was awake, Salia slipped out the door and into the hallway.

Salia instantly regretted not putting on her slippers as she made her way deeper into the halls of Arsenal. She didn't really know where to go, other than that she needed to clear her mind. She kept having the same recurring dream; parents she never knew dying in the sharp claws of DRAGONs. She didn't understand how most of the other girls coped without parental guidance. Maggie and Officer Emma were consistent in providing care for the girls and some of the older teens played games and babysat once in awhile but it still wasn't enough for Salia.

She guessed she should have considered herself lucky, there were girls she knew who suffered from being taken away from parents that they had the chance of getting to know and love. However, she found herself secretly envying them. They all had mothers and fathers and even siblings that all loved them and were able to share memories with. All Salia had was an embrace each night from Maggie and roommates who would make fun of her for being the smallest. She didn't even have a picture of her real family. She was only told that she had broken the light of mana as soon as she was born and she was shipped off to Arsenal to be raised to be a fighter. All the young girl ever wanted was to be wanted. She wanted someone to look up to who she could make proud. But she had no one. Salia furiously tried to wipe away her tears but it only frustrated her more.

As Salia rounded the corner after walking through the empty food court, she jumped at a sudden voice coming from the direction of the officers suites. She crept down the hallway further until she came across Captain Alektra's private office, light peeking out from under the door. Sniffling, she pressed her ear against the door and listened. She could make out the 20 year old Captain mumbling over what seemed to be strategic plans. She didn't know the Captain well, but she always heard amazing stories from Maggie about her.

Salia froze as she heard the room on the other side of the door go silent. Suddenly, with a whoosh of air, she found herself falling backwards hard on her behind. Staring down at her was the Captain herself. Salia trembled with nervousness as she sniffled. The Captain stared down at her with a quizzical glance before kneeling down to face her.

"If you're going to eavesdrop, you should learn to be a little more sneaky." Alektra smirked as she brushed Salia's undone hair away from her face. The smaller norma whimpered and peeked a glance up at the commanding officer, scared that she'd be harshly sent back to bed.

Alektra felt her heart soften at the sight of tear streaks running down the girl's face. She recognized her from her trips to the elementary school. Salia was the little one's name. Alektra internally liked those trips, seeing the girls laughing and so full of life brought joy and hope to her heart. It let her reality escape her for a while. She could forget that most of the girls would grow up to be fighters against the DRAGONs; most likely facing their death in battle.

Alektra softened her expression towards Salia and brought her hand up to soothe away the tear streaks on her cheeks. The little girl leaned into her touch and whimpered again.

"Salia, are you okay?" the Captain asked. Clearly the young girl was not okay, but she wanted the girl to at least be able to speak with her. Alektra knew her presence could be a bit intimidating. She drew closer to the girl and rubbed her thin shoulder with her other hand, trying to provide a small amount of comfort. Salia mumbled something through stumbling lips.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that." Alektra said softly, urging the girl to confess what brought her to this state. She didn't even want to think about how long the girl had been outside her room, wandering the dark halls of Arsenal. While it was a pretty secure facility, it wasn't an ideal place for a small girl to be wandering around by herself at night in.

"I- I had a bad dream…" a hoarse voice cracked out. Alektra frowned. She had experienced many night terrors herself when she had been brought to Arsenal. She still had them from time to time. While she was a tough woman, the Captain took situations like this to heart. The streak of fear in the little girl's eyes was enough to break the older woman's heart.

"Come on, little one." Alektra whispered as she picked up the small girl, cradling her in her arms. Salia turned her head into the woman's chest, resting there and listening to her heartbeat. Salia was scared that the Captain would scold her for wandering around by herself past her bedtime but she had instead been pleasantly surprised. She relished in the woman's embrace, clinging onto the small feeling of being cared for. She snuggled further into Alektra's arms and heard the Captain hum softly, making up a random tune to calm the small girl.

Alektra made her way through the corridors of Arsenal until she arrived to her Captain's chambers. Balancing the semi-conscious Salia in one arm, she unlocked her door and closed it behind her. Flicking on the soft bulb of the bedside lamp, she set the young girl down on her bed. While running lithe fingers through Salia's bangs, Alektra used her pager to send a message to Maggie and Officer Emma, informing them of Salia's whereabouts. The last thing she needed was to cause chaos within Arsenal over a lost girl.

Setting down the device, she turned towards Salia, "I think you'll sleep much better here don't you think?" Alektra softly cupped her cheek. When the Captain herself was experiencing night terrors, she found it best to try to rest in a new environment. Through that practice; she often found herself frequenting Maggie's bed.

The little girl nodded. She didn't want to be sent back to her cold room. The daylight brought a sense of warmth into the cinderblock room that failed to carry into the night. The other girls never seemed to have trouble sleeping like she did. "I d-don't want to sleep in my room. The others make f-fun of me for being a crybaby..."

"Tch, you're not a crybaby, little one." Alektra said gently, "Even I get nightmares. You just have to learn to stand up to yourself to fight them away."

Salia gave the Captain a small nod and brought her gaze down to her clasped hands in her lap. She didn't know if she'd ever be able to drive away her nightmares. She debated whether telling Alektra what her dream was about, but she guessed it didn't matter. There wasn't anything the Captain could do to give Salia parents. She would just have to rely on the love she was given.

Alektra picked up on the sadness within the small girl's heart and put her hand over both the girl's own. "You don't have to be lonely, Salia. You have love all around you, you just have to be open towards it."

Salia sighed and nodded again, daring to bring their combined hands to her cheek to feel the Captains warm skin against her own. She wondered if this was what it felt like to have a mother. She tried to push the intrusive thought out of her mind before it fused to her memory. She didn't need that kind of pain.

Sensing the small norma's trouble, Alektra pulled back the covers of her bed and gently pushed Salia back against the pillows. Keeping her awake this late would only cause more mental grief for the young girl. The Captain turn to her closet and shimmied out of her long coat and boots and pulled the tie out of her hair. She turned back to her bed and climbed in behind the little girl, careful as to not awake her half-asleep form. Before turning off the light, she placed a gentle kiss against the girl's temple.

"Remember Salia, everyone in Arsenal wants to see you succeed. Don't dwindle on what could have been and instead embrace what is given to you. Good night, little one."


End file.
